Artist BiographyWalter Roland Dickerson(born April 16, 1928 or 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - [ died [May 15]], 2008) was a jazz vibraphone player most associated with post-bop. He graduated from Morgan State University in 1953 and after two years in the Army he settled in California. There he started to gain attention leading a band with Andrew Hill and Andrew Cyrille, but it was his later time in New York City that earned him full notice. In 1962 Downbeat named him the best new artist. In NYC he also worked with John Coltrane and Sun Ra acted as his sideman. From 1965 to 1975 he took a break from jazz, but later he worked again with Andrew Hill and Sun Ra. He died in May 2008 from a cardiac arrest.